Exchangeable printing subassembly for a rotary printing press



Oct. 7, 1969 PlEC ET AL 3,470,816

EXCHANGEABLE PRINTING SUBASSEMBLY FOR A RQTARY PRINTING PRESS Original Filed on. 29, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 7, 1969 a. PIECHA ET AL 3,470,816

EXCHANGEABLE PRINTING SUBASSEMBLY FOR A ROTARY PRINTING PRESS 4 Original Filed Oct. 29, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Zgvenlors 6 EORG KARL La/vasR 37HMMW firroRMe/s United States Patent 3,470,816 EXCHANGEABLE PRINTING SUBASSEMBLY FOR A ROTARY PRINTING PRESS Georg Piecha, Offenbach am Main, and Karl Langer,

Heusenstamm, near Offenbach am Main, Germany, assignors to Roland Olfsetmaschinenfabrik Faber & Schleicher AG., Offenbach am Main, Germany, a company of Germany Continuation of applications Ser. No. 584,720, Oct. 6,

1966, and Ser. No. 407,305, Oct. 29, 1964. This application Oct. 24, 1967, Ser. No. 677,786 Claims priority, application Germany, Apr. 2, 1964,

37,597 Int. Cl. B41f 5/00, 7/02, 5 04 US. Cl. 101216 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE There is shown a self-contained printing subassembly or unit for a rotary printing press. The subassembly is arranged to be mounted between two spaced apart walls of the frame structure of the press by releasably securing the subassembly to one of said walls, the clear spacing between said walls being wider than the maximal width of the subassembly. Locating means may be provided to locate the subassembly in an exact predetermined position between the walls. Such an arrangement has the advantage that the subassembly can be rapidly and conveniently detached from the frame structure of the press for servicing or replacement and that a reconditioned subassembly or another subassembly can be quickly and conveniently installed and is automatically in the correct position.

The present application is a continuing application based upon our copending application Ser. No. 584,720, filed Oct. 6, 1966 and our application Ser. No. 407,305, filed Oct. 29, 1964, both of which are now abandoned.

The present invention relates to rotary printing presses, and more particularly to web-fed rotary printing presses the cylinders of which are exchangeably mounted between two side walls of the frame structure of the press.

It is known to install form cylinders of different diameters in a rotary intaglio printing press for printing on materials of different sizes or formats. The impression cylinder of the press must then be adjusted accordingly. For printing with letterpress or offset printing presses, it is also necessary for printing on materials of different sizes or formats to exchange the impression cylinder and blanket cylinder, respectively, in addition to the form cylinder, since the diameters of all the cylinders must be in a relationship to each other which is an integer, and the cylinders must be drivingly coupled by gears. The exchange of each cylinder individually requires considerable accurate labor, and accordingly, any changover to a different format or size of the material to be printed upon is time-consuming.

It is a broad object of the invention to provide a novel and improved printing press of the general kind above referred to in which the components of the press affected by a change in the format or size of the material to be printed upon are combined in a subassembly which can be rapidly and conveniently detached as a unit from the press and rapidly and conveniently reinstalled in the ress in the correct operational position. Such an arrangement has the advantage that by providing a special subassembly for each format or size of the material to be printed upon, a change-over from one type of material to another can be effected with much less labor and in a much shorter time than heretofore has been possible.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved printing press of the general kind 3,470,816 Patented Oct. 7,, 1969 above referred to in which at least two coacting and drivingly coupled cylinders are rotatably supported in and between auxiliary side Walls, thereby to constitute a selfcontained subassembly which can be exchanged as a unit.

Another more specific object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved printing press of the general kind above referred to in which the devices for adjusting the printing pressure and for tripping the cylinders of the press on and off and also the bearings for the cylinders are mounted in the subassembly. In other words, all the components which affect the quality of the printing operation, are permanently installed in the subassembly. Obviously, this permits a more accurate, quicker and more reliable installation than is possible with an arrangement requiring disassembly and reassembly of all the components involved each time a different material is to be printed upon. The coupling of the appropriate components in the subassembly with corresponding components of the press, such as the power drive thereof, does not present any difiiculties especially with multicolor printing presses.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved printing press of the general kind above referred to in which one of the coacting cylinders occupies the same position in each subassembly. Such an arrangement facilitates the coupling of the subassembly with the power drive means of the press and other appropriate components thereof. More specifically, the arrangement permits the use of simple coupling means, such as an axially displaceable coupling sleeve between the driving shaft or other driving member of the power drive of the press and the axle or trunnion of the respective cylinder in the subassembly.

A further object of the invention is to provide a subassembly for a four-cylinder offset prefecting press in which subassembly the two plate cylinders and the two blanket cylinders of the press are combined. The changeover from one type of material to be printed upon to another type of material can then be effected in a minimum time. The same arrangement is advantageous for letterpress perfecting presses which use the same grouping-of cylinders as does a four-cylinder offset prefecting press, except that the two blanket cylinders are replaced by impression cylinders which are not in contact with each other, and that the paper web to be printed upon engages the two impression cylinders in an S-shaped path.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a novel and improved printing press of the general kind above referred to in which at least two coacting cylinders are disposed in the same position in each subassembly, irrespective of the specific format or size of the material to be printed upon, for which the subassembly is designed, and in which one of the coacting cylinders can be coupled to the power drive of the press. Such an arrangement has the particular advantage that the two inkers of the press, and in offset printing presses the dampeners also, may remain in the same position; merely the form rollers have to be adjusted.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved printing press of the general kind above referred to in which the width of the subassembly in the direction of the axes of the cylinders therein is less than the spacing between the aforementioned walls of the frame structure of the press, and in which one of the side walls of the subassembly may be clamped to the respective wall of the frame structure. As a result, the subassemblies can be rapidly and conveniently exchanged, and the accurate location of each installed subassembly is assured.

Other and further objects, features and advantages of the invention will be pointed out hereinafter and set forth in the appended claims constituting part of the application.

In the accompanying drawing a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown by way of illustration, and not by way of limitation.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic elevational end view, partly in section, of a four-cylinder offset perfecting press including a subassembly according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic View, partly in section, of the subassembly proper;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic elevational front view of the press according to FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the coupling means for coupling a subassembly to the power drive of the press;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view, partly in section, of part of the press shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary plan view, partly in section, of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a detailed view, partly in section, of the mounting means for fastening a subassembly to the frame structure of the press; and

FIG. 9 is a section taken on line 9-9 of FIG. 4 on an enlarged scale.

Referring now to the figures in detail, the exemplified printing press comprises a frame structure including a base 1 and two upright side walls 2 and 3 suitably secured thereto. The frame structure is assumed to be conventional. It does not constitute part of the invention, and hence is not illustrated in detail.

As pointed out before, the invention provides that a plurality of subassemblies may be provided, each designed for a specific type of material to be printed upon.

The subassembly exemplified in FIG. 1 comprises two auxiliary side walls 4 and 5 in which two plate cylinders 6 and 7 are rotatably mounted by means of bushings 8. The side walls further mount two blanket cylinders 9 and 10 which are rotatable in eccentric bushings 12, which are adjustable by means of threaded rods 11, as will be more fully described hereinafter in connection with FIGS. 5, 6 and 7. The two side walls 4 and 5 are secured, free of torsion, in a parallel spatial relationship by means of suitable stiffening elements, such as crossbars 13. The four cylinders are drivingly coupled by gears 14 in a well known manner.

As is evident, the afore listed components constitute a self-contained subassembly. The subassembly may be secured to wall 2 of the frame structure by suitable fastening means, such as screws 15 extending through side wall 4 of the subassembly into wall 2, whereby the accurate location of the walls 2 and 4 in reference to each other may be controlled by set screws 16. The osition of the second side wall 5 of the subassembly in relation to wall 3 of the frame structure is controlled by the fitting of set screws 17. As can best be seen in FIG. 8, the location of the subassembly is further secured by hollow screw bolts 18, which are each screwed in until the leading end thereof abuts against side wall 5. Bolts 18 are then preferably locked by means of locking nuts 18a. Finally, clamping bolts 19 are screwed into hollow bolts 18 and tightened therein.

The subassembly is thus accurately and tightly located between walls 2 and 3 of the frame structure.

The dampeners of the press are designated 21, and the inkers 24. Both the dampeners and the inkers should be visualized as being of conventional design, and hence they are not described in detail. The inkers are pivotal about a pivot 23. The angular position of the inkers may be adjusted by suitable means diagrammatically indicated as pneumatic cylinders 22, including a plunger and a plunger rod coupled to the inkers. The paper web to be printed upon, designated 25, is guided between blanket cylinders 9 and 10.

The subassembly shown in FIG. 2 is alike in principle to the subassembly shown in FIG. 1 as being installed in the press, as are also all other subassemblies which may be provided. The two plate cylinders of FIG. 2 are designated 26 and 27, the coacting blanket cylinders by 28 and 29, and the side walls by 30 and 31. The diameters of all the cylinders in the subassembly of FIG. 2 are smaller than those of the cylinders in FIG. 1. The dotted circles in FIG. 2 indicate the diameters of the corresponding cylinders in the subassembly of FIG. 1. The bores for the afore described setting and mounting screws or bolts are located in the same manner as in FIG. 1. Accordingly, the subassembly of FIG. 2 can readily be exchanged for the subassembly shown installed in the press of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 4 and 9 illustrate the coupling means for coupling the plate cylinders of the subassembly of FIG. 1 with the power drive of the machine. The coupling is illustrated for plate cylinders 7, but it should be understood that the coupling of FIG. 4 could be used equally well for coupling the plate cylinder 27 of FIG. 2 or the respective plate cylinder of any other subassembly. Plate cylinder 7 is provided with an axle stud or trunnion 7a which is rotatably supported in the afore described bearing 8. The axle stud has in its face side a groove 32 which is engageable with a generally wedge-shaped nose 33 of a coupling sleeve 36. This sleeve is rotatable and also axially slidable in a casing 34. The sleeve can be moved into a coupling position in which its nose 33 engages groove 32, or out of this position, by suitable adjustment means diagrammatically shown as comprising a forked lever 35. Casing 34 rotatably supports a shaft 39 extending into coupling sleeve 36 and coupled thereto by suitable coupling means, such as a key 40, so as to permit displacement of the sleeve in reference to shaft 39 but to prevent relative rotation. Shaft 39 seats a worm gear 38 fixedly secured thereto, for instance, by keying. The worm gear is in engagement with a worm 37, which should be visualized as constituting a driving member of the power drive of the press. Accordingly, shaft 39 constitues a driving shaft, as rotation of worm 37 will be transmitted to cylinder 7 when the afore described coupling is in egagement.

The form rollers of dampeners 21 and inkers 24 are angularly adjustable so that they are capable of engaging both the large diameter plate cylinders 6 and 7 and also the small diameter plate cylinders 26 and 27.

Turning now to FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, as stated before, the blanket cylinders 9 and 10 are supported in eccentric bearing 12 so that rotation of the bearings will vary the spacing between blanket cylinders 9 and 10 and the respective coacting plate cylinders 6 and 7. Each of the side walls 4 and 5 of the subassembly mounts a bracket 51 in which the respective control rod 11 is rotatable. Each bracket is secured to the respective wall by a screw bolt 50. Rotation of each rod may be conveniently effected by means of a threaded knob 52. Length-wise displacement of each rod 11 is transmitted to a lever 53, which in turn is secured to the respective bearing 12 so that the position thereof is changeable by turning knob 52. Each bearing 12 is encompassed by a second eccentric bearing bushing 54. These bushings are coupled to rods 57 and 59, respectively, linked to levers 56 and 56a, respectively, which in turn are fixedly seated upon a pivot 55. One of rods 57 and 59 may include a turnbuckle 58 to adjust the effective length of the respective rod. Such turnbuckle is shown in rod 59. As is evident, rotation to pivot 55 by any suitable means in either direction will cause each of the blanket cylinders 9 and 10 to move into or out of contact, depending upon the rotational direction of pivot pin 55, with the respective plate cylinder 6 or 7, and also with the respective other blanket cylinder.

As is further evident, the spacing between blanket cylinders 9 and 10 can be adjusted for different gauges of paper to be printed upon by means of turnbuckle 58, while the spacing of each blanket cylinder 9 or 10 from the respective plate cylinder 6 or 7 remains unchanged.

What is claimed is:

A rotary printing press assemblage comprising in tionarily mounted spaced apart parallel walls; self-contained printing press subassembly including two side walls, supporting means securing said side Walls in spaced apart relationship, the distance between the facing sides of the walls of the frame structure being greater than the distance between the side walls of the subassembly, at least one pair of parallel printing press cylinders rotatably mounted between the side walls of the subassembly in coacting relationship with each other, and coupling means drivingly coupling said cylinders;

first mounting means releasably securing one of the side walls of the subassembly to one of the walls of the frame structure in abutting relationship therewith, the other side wall of the subassembly being spaced apart from the other wall of the frame structure, said mounting means including fastening means extending through the respective wall of the frame structure into a receiving opening in the abutting side wall of the subassembly; and

second mounting means including locating means diswhereby upon release of said first mounting means and said locating means the subassembly is detachable as a unit from the frame structure to service the subassembly separated from the printing press or to replace it by another subassembly as defined in the claim.

2. The rotary printing press assemblage according to claim 1 wherein said first mounting means further comprise releasable locating means extending through at least one side wall of the frame structure into a matching opening of the respective side wall of the subassembly.

3. The rotary printing press assemblage according to claim 1 wherein the locating means of the second mounting means further comprise locking means for locking said locating means in a position of adjustment in which the locating means abut against said other side wall of the subassembly.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,217,646 2/1917 Scott 101-143 1,590,742 6/1926 Goulding 101-143 XR 2,069,613 2/ 1937 Koppe 101-352 XR 2,098,946 11/1937 Elliot 101-178 2,146,586 2/1939 Meisel 101-139 2,216,562 10/1940 Barber 101-220 2,950,674 8/ 1960 Taylor et al 101-247 XR 2,988,989 6/1961 Crawford 101-177 XR 3,072,050 1/ 1963 Wolff 101-177 ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

